Red alert: Fergie and Vidic have history with German referee (and there's an English groundsman pitching in to help Real)

Forget Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, and Karim Benzema. The biggest threats to Manchester United on Wednesday could be the German referee and an English groundsman.

Felix Brych is the man in the middle. He sent off Nemanja Vidic in the Champions League group stage last season, a decision which saw the club captain suspended for two games as United crashed out.

Given Sir Alex Ferguson’s encyclopaedic
memory of refereeing calls, it is likely he will remind his players
about the Munich-based official.

Marching orders: Nemanja Vidic was sent off by German ref Felix Brych against Otelul Galati

Vidic was guilty of a lunging challenge on Otelul Galati’s Gabriel Giurgiu in the 66th minute of their match in Romania. It looked a yellow card but Brych decided his foot was high enough to warrant a straight red.

And rather than a one-match ban, UEFA contacted United prior to the reverse fixture earlier to inform the club that Vidic would instead be banned for two games.

At the time, Ferguson initially described Vidic’s dismissal as ‘very harsh’, before adding: ‘I can understand the referee’s interpretation because German football is different to England.’

Stay on your feet may be his message before this last-16 first-leg match.

Off: Brych has sent off other English-based players - on this occasion Tottenham's Peter Crouch (right) saw red against Real Madrid

Warning: Ashley Cole this time is booked by Brych

Brych meanwhile will hope he suffers no repeat of his embarrassing water bottle mishap suffered during last year’s Bundesliga match between FC Schalke 04 and Hannover, when the contents sprayed all over his face.

Paul Burgess is the man with green
fingers. He has worked for Real Madrid since 2009 (he was previously at
Arsenal) and promises a slick surface suited to Jose Mourinho’s
counter-attacking football.

Burgess, who began his career at Blackpool, has been consulting with Mourinho over the best preparation for the Bernabeu pitch. The 34-year-old spent 12 years at Arsenal and won groundsman of the year five times before being recommended to Madrid by Juande Ramos, who had been impressed by the Emirates pitch while boss of Tottenham.

Good old days: Paul Burgess was the groundsman when Arsenal played at Highbury

‘Usually, players at big clubs like Real
Madrid want to play on short and wet grass, in order to play a fast
game,’ he has said. ‘We are not going to look at the opposition, but
achieve a standard for our team to play the game it wants.’

In a different interview, Burgess added: ‘There is a different kind of pressure here compared to Arsenal. There, the club is more about the future whereas at Real Madrid it is all about today. If they don’t do well today there is no tomorrow, so winning is everything.

‘That transcends down to the groundsman as well. Everyone at the club has to have a winning mentality and if you don’t have that, then you aren’t part of the make-up of the club.’